Late yesterday afternoon I decided to not risk the rear tube as although it was holding pressure for an hour or so, there was obviously a leak so given that the forecast was for rain, I did not want to be shagging around on the side of the road in the wet so changed it and bought another tube and used bike shop track pump to get tires up to 120 psi which you can not do with the hand pump!
As there did not look like too many towns or settlements between Napier and Tarawera (which is basically half way) made the call to have breakfast at Napier which in the end was a good decision and was on road with the theme song from Willie “on the road again…” at around 7.30am after saying goodbye to lovely Tania (bronze statue).
While there had been rain overnight, it was fine, but overcast although not sure how long that the rain was going to hold off and there was already a bit of wind which made it is a push to get out past the airport but a bit further on entered a valley with beautifully manicured vine yards and properties.
While I had some apprenhension about this section of the tour due to its reputation with having a high number of vehicles using it, as well as a high number of accidents, I was expecting there to be some lovely climbs through native bush, unfortunately I came away very disappointed..
The road has a signficant amount of climbing and the Garmin has recorded a total accent of 2,130m, but all the climbs were just direct ramps and most of them were “teasers” in that when you think that you have got to the summit, around the corner there was another ramp and often another…. Certainly there was no finesse in the road design department!
I have ridden most places in the South Island and I cannot recall experiencing any ramps like these, that just went on and on.. I started to dread the signs indicating that a passing lane was approaching as you knew after a while as to what was coming,, I don’t know how many there were as did not count them but would think that there would have been at least 15.
Just to cap off the day, the road surface was generally big chip and to add to this the wind which was not assisting, it then started to rain.
Some of the decents off these ramps would have been great and very fast had it not been for the wind, as the backpack acted like a sail and made the bike very unsteady.
One of the small settlements I went through which although had a sign announcing it, would have been lucky to have 3 houses made me laugh as I thought I was seeing things as there was a young piglet on the wrong side of the fence and then just further up the road there were a number of them also on the wrong side of the fence and squealing as I went past. I did wonder how much longer they would last before road kill, or uplifted by a passing motorist!
Finally reached Tarawera where a pie and a cup of tea was very welcome, but not so welcome was yet another ramp when you came back onto the road from the cafe.,
On reaching the top of this ramp though, there was a great decent and the nicest part of the ride for me with the road continuing down the valley, but there were quite a few more ups and downs before getting out of the hills (finally) although the Garmin told me that there was still at least 45k to go.. I could see a very distinctive flat shape mountain in the distance and sure enough this was quite close to Taupo as I found out!
At this point while it had been fine after Tarawera, it started to rain and did not stop all the way to Taupo.
For the last 40 odd ks, there were some long straights through forested areas with the inevitable climb at the end and these just seemed to go on and on as did the rain.
There had been a motor cross event in one of the forests, so all the way to Taupo I was past by cars and vans towing wide trailers with motor cross bikes that just added to the spray.
The final 15ks the road was obviously decending as the speed varied between 40 and 50ks and it was a real hoot with the final decent in viewing the lake (finally!) and then joining the main road which brought back memories of the time that I did the round Taupo race.
It was easy to find the motel I had booked and I stood outside the office to check in as I was that wet and water was just pooling off me.
In reviewing the ride, after the initial climb, most of the day was spent at around 700m with a maximum of 767m.
I received a number of enouraging “toots” but no “flashes”, perhaps that might happen tomorrow, or the day after.. Has not happened on any of my tours yet, but you have to be optomistic!
A sobering impact from the ride was the number of white crosses on the side of the road, at one location there were a total of 4. I did notice though that there was a lot of rubbish on the road and glass, most alcohol related and made me wonder whether this was a factor, but it is just such a waste of life. There is really nothing wrong with the road, so it comes back to the driver..
The distance for the day was 142k and with the road surface, elevations and weather as for the last 45k it was miserable, this ride would rate as one of the hardest days that I have had on the bike.
The cover on the backpack has kept everything dry, so after a long hot shower and then some beers (and some more), the day does not seem so bad afterall!
Message though for “Phil 3”. How could you not warn me about this road or was I not listening!
Motel is basic but clean and tidy and although it has white towels, some are also blue! It also has cultery, unlike the motel in Dannevirke where I had to use the end of my toothbrush to stir my coffee as there was no cultery that I could find.
The forecast is not great for tomorrow, so will make a call in the morning as to whether to stay put and have a rest day, or box on in the hope of getting an extra day at Pahia.
End of day 6. With the BP Group ride on Saturday and Sunday of last week and 6 days of the tour, by my rough calculations the total ks for the 8 days is 1,015.